New Viking fridge making a high-pitched whining noise..

11 years ago

Hello appliance gurus,

Just had my Viking VCBF136LSS freestanding fridge delivered this morning. The model is discontinued, but I was able to contact the distributor and get one with the direction of a kind GW member.

The fridge is beautiful, but oh my goodness, when it's running, it makes a high-pitched noise that's driving me insane! It's quiet enough that less sensitive person might not be bothered by it, but I really am. And my dog won't even come into the kitchen :(

There's a lot of construction in my neighborhood, and when I first heard it, I thought someone in the distance was running a saw. The noise occurs along with the regular mechanical humming that every fridge makes.

The repairman is coming this week, but I'm not confident that he'll be able to diagnose the problem. It's under warranty (being brand new). I'm wondering if Viking will replace the fan, compressor, etc. until the problem is solved.

Any ideas about a diagnosis or potential solution would be appreciated!

Featured Answer

TulipGirl

6 years ago

We bought our Viking Pro in 2006.... Its still running great.... we have had the " noise" for all of these years. Our household has gotten used to it. But, visitors( such as our wallpaper hanger) have been very bothered by it. Our wallpaper guy thought it sounded like a stuck car horn in the distance somewhere. It drove him batty.

Comments (15)

jakvis
11 years ago
Many of the newer high speed, high efficiency, compressors have a high pitch sound to them. They tend to quiet somewhat after a couple weeks of running. So if the tech says it's normal and will quiet down with run time that is a correct statement.
It could also be a tubing vibration that the tech should be able to isolate.
Madeline616
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, Jakvis.

The Viking repairman came today. We isolated the noise to the compressor, but he says the high-pitched humming is a normal noise for a compressor. I asked him why I've never heard any other fridge make that noise before, he didn't seem to have an answer. My friend has the identical model. I'm going to her house this week, and I can see if she has the same noise, but I'm pretty positive she doesn't.

I told him I'd wait a couple of weeks and see if I can live with it, or see if it gets better like you suggest. If it doesn't, the only way I'm going to be satisfied is if they replace the compressor. I hope it doesn't involve a big process to convince Viking to replace it.

Thanks again!
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jakvis
11 years ago
You can check out your friends refrigerator but remember that different kitchens have different accoustics and the sound levels will be different.
As I said, Give it a couple weeks to break in and it will get quieter.
I really don't recommend replacing the compressor unless it's a last resort.
dadoes
11 years ago
Some compressors nowadays are of a different mechanical design than in the past ... thus difference noise profiles.
Madeline616
Original Author
11 years ago
Okay, thanks Javis and Dadoes.

I'll definitely wait it out for at least 2-4 weeks.

I'm figuring you don't recommend being too quick to replace the compressor because that can lead to other problems?

Thanks again.
dadoes
11 years ago
Replacing a compressor is "major surgery," not something to be done lightly.
Madeline616
Original Author
11 years ago
lol, gotcha :)
jakvis
11 years ago
Replacing the compressor is like doing a heart transplant Try to avoid it.
Madeline616
Original Author
11 years ago
Holy mackerel. Point taken ;-)
rococogurl
11 years ago
I have a much older Viking fridge. Also noisy since the beginning. I might consider a buy-back and go with Liebherr which would be silent.
Madeline616
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi Rococo,

Do you have the high-pitched sound?

I'm not familiar with the buy-back. How does that work?

Thanks!
rococogurl
11 years ago
Mine is like a low buzz and appears to be the fan. But it's always been noisy -- we can hear the fridge from upstairs. Best to email me. Jane
weissman
11 years ago
Buy back only occurs when you can convince a manufacturer that you have an unrepairable lemon - it's not something they're anxious to do - they'd much rather try to repair your item.
ramlahn
9 years ago
Did this end up resolving with your refrigerator Madeline616? We just had our viking fridge installed this week and have a similar noise that is driving me crazy so far!